Going Back HOME!

1/29/2020
Rio Dulce, Guatemala
hot and sunny

Well, friends and family, I have received news that my sweet Daddy has a brain tumor which has caused all of his mysterious symptoms since Christmas.  I will be making the trip backwards again it seems.  So leaving in the morning at 8am for San Pedro Sula, Honduras with our wonderful driver, Giovanni.  My flight lands in Houston at 6pm and my sweet girlfriend, Janice, will pick me up and take me to Katy.  There I will get my truck and head back to Cat Spring for the night.  Next day off to Georgetown.  Our son, Sean, will be in Austin with his sister, Haley tonight.  Needless to say I have such mixed feelings running amok.  I will keep you all informed as to how things are progressing.  Please keep Milton in your thoughts and prayers.  Hasta Luego!

Haley and her Daddo at their joint birthday party

October 2019

Work, work, work

1/28/2020
Rio Dulce
sunny and hot

Yes, it is sunny and hot.  Evidently we came in to the Rio on the last couple of days of extended rain.  We have done nothing but work on this boat.  The list is long and we are slowly marking off things that must be done.  We have gotten our jib and staysail up and in doing so had to pull out some ropes that were stored under the setee.  Well, wouldn't you know it, there is a leak and all the ropes are mildewed and wet.  I can't even begin to tell you what is all involved in cleaning these, plus fixing the damn leak…..but that is a boat for you.  I have done some bright work....little job compared to all the bright work we did in Panama a couple of years ago.  So I have sanded the helm seat and the toerails.  Now for the varnish and Charlie says the more coats the better.  We can only do 2 coats per day, so at this point it will just depend on the weather how many coats I put on.

I have added a few photos.  Bomba is the marina dog.  He is so sweet and just makes me miss having an animal so much.  So I am loving him up while I can.  A new complete boat cover is coming on Friday....but you never know for sure if that is real or not as we are on Guatemalan time.  So back to work!

 My helm seat is sanded and the toerails are next. Thank god I have an electric sander on board.

                                                             Poor Charlie he is always
                                                              working on the motors.

Back in the Rio again!

1-18-2020
Rio Dulce, Guatemala

Yesterday was a day!  Got up at 6am, at the airport by 9am, on the plane at 11am, arrived in San Pedro Sul, Honduras at 3:15 and were met by our friend and driver, Giovanni.  It was a long ride to Guatemala.  Only stopped once by the federal police in Honduras, checking passports and luggage.  At the boarder of Honduras and Guatemala we were able to get through immigration without a problem.  I always wonder how these countries feel about us Americans since we are so unwelcoming to their citizens.

Our boat flag, seems like a metaphor for our

our country now....not the best it can be! 

I had to go to the bathroom and had to pay 5 Lempiras to us it, that also pays for your toilet paper....and of course now that I am back in Central America....the toilet paper goes in the trash.....just one of my little pet peeves. The roads here are 2 lanes with no lighting and no stripping on the edge of the road.  And if you think the number of 18 wheelers are bad on our highways....well just double that.  Driving at night is not for sissys here.  Finally I just had to stop looking ahead, and then there are all the motorcycles with no back lights....it's crazy!

Got to Rio Dulce around 7:30 just as it was beginning to rain and we had 5 large bags, 2 backpacks, and 2 "personal items" to unload.  We had a quick dinner and at 9pm, Fernando, picked us up in the "launcha" and got us back to our boat before the "bottom dropped out again"!  We managed to pile our bags in the boat and fall into bed.

Today....well it was another day from hell....no food on the boat and our outboard motor (for our dingy) would not start.  Our marina is about a mile from town, but we lucked out and got Roberto, the owners son, to take us in to the NEW grocery store, La Torre.  Oh my were we in heaven.  It is air conditioned and has a produce case that is larger than 5', which was what the Dispensa (old grocery store) has.  So tomorrow is more work to get everything  put away, then get to working on wiping all the mildew and mold off of EVERYTHING!  Do I sound like I am complaining?  So stay tuned for more fun in "paradise"!!!

Time to Leave is Approaching

1/2/20
Cat Spring, TX
60 degrees and rainy


Well, time to leave for s/v Island Sol is quickly approaching.  January 17th is our departure date.  There have been so many things keeping us here, but we both are chopping at the bit to get out of here.  My parents health is questionable and being an only child is making it very hard for me to leave, but they are being well taken care of and of course I will return it there is a turn for the worse.  Sean and Charlie are rebuilding a service truck for Sean to start his own business and that needs to be completed.  But all in all we will board that Spirit airplane and fly off to Honduras, then take a private car/driver to make the 3 1/2 hour drive to Rio Dulce, Guatemala....then go to sleep on our boat!

We don't really know what our plans will be this season.  Thinking of Isla Mujeres again, as we have several friends there now, then spending some time in Belize on our way back to Guatemala.  I will try my best to stay up with the blog.  So stay tuned.  Wishing you all a Happy New Years and that 2020 brings you health, love and prosperity.  "see ya on the beach"!

West End, Roatan, Honduras

3/17/19
sunny. 84 degrees

Oh my...what has happened?  I have fallen off the blog entries.  So sorry.  Our time in Guatemala before our departure was filled with angst.  We had to replace all 6 of our batteries, which was a big hit to our sailing budget.  We had just replaced all of them 2 years ago in Panama and now we are here again....they should have lasted at least another 3+ years.  But there you have it....BOAT...Break Out Another Thousand! 

Then we were on a time restraint with friends arriving in Roatan on March 7th and our new dingy was not finished yet.  So, as that was being completed we got busy and prepared s/v Island Sol for leaving the Rio.  We got our new and improved dingy in the water and headed out for Livingston to check out of the country on March 4th.  We had called ahead to the agent, Raul, and he had one of his employees meet us at our boat, collect our passports and boat papers and in less than an hour, they were back with our exit papers....Wham Bam Thank You Mam!  An then off we went sailing non-stop to Utila, Honduras.  It was a miserable 24 hr. sail, or rather motor sail due to mixed up seas and an unfavorable wind.  But we arrived in Utila around noon on the 5th.  We were glad to be able to check into Honduras here as it is a one-stop shop, so to speak.  But as luck would have it that was not meant to be.  Their immigration person did not exist, so we were unable to check in and had to do that in Roatan....a much more lengthy ordeal.  Charlie stood in line at the bank for about 45 mins. so we could exchange our US $ for Honduran Lempiras.  One Lempira equals 4 cents US.  We ended up taking a tuk-tuk....the international motorcycle with a covered back seat...to Mango Tango for Tapas Tuesday.  We were not sure what to expect, but it was fabulous.  We picked 5 different tapas and with 2 cocktails under our belt, it was lights out on our return to the boat.

The next morning we got underway early and made a 4-hour sail to Roatan and the mooring field at West End in the Roatan Marine Park.  As we approached our entrance into the cut in the reef we were not sure if we would find a mooring ball as there were a lot of boats there.  But, we did find one and what a relief to not be on an anchor where you worry all night if you are dragging or not.  It is a high probability that you will remain in place on a mooring ball, which offers a good nights sleep. 

So we arrived on the 6th and our friends, David and Steve arrived on the set date of the 7th.  We were cutting it close and the sailor quote of...."You can pick your time and you can pick your place, but you can't pick your time AND your place" was not a problem.  So the next week we toured the island, drank and ate and ate and drank.  A sail to Cayos Cochinos, 4 hrs. toward the mainland, some snorkeling and just in general a good time was had by all.

Ola from the Rio

2/20/19
Rio Dulce, Guatemala
95 degrees and sunny

Hello everyone, Charlie and I have now been on the Rio for 2 weeks.  Our flight was really nice, Charlie brought 4 little bottles of vodka and we bought 2 cans of Mrs. T's and took off into the friendly skies.  We chatted with 2 women behind us with 2 dogs and a Honduran "singing Dentist" in the aisle across from us.  The steward on the plane talked to us at length about Roatan as he was going on a cruise the next day and that was one of his destinations.  All of this made for a quick flight.  Giovanni, our driver/friend picked us up in La Ceba, Honduras and after cramming all of our bags into his Toyota we started off for Guatemala.  This turned out to be a 4 hr. trip with several stops by military police to check the trunk and our passports, a stop at the border with immigration and then finally arriving at 7:00 pm.  Here Luvi and his son Rodrigo (owner of the maria) picked up us in his launcha and took us to our floating home, Island Sol.  It was a long day and we were exhausted, but Charlie got the AC up and running before we finally fell into bed around 11:00.

Life on the river has not changed much.  On our trip into town the next day for some food and provisions we ran into several old sailing friends.  The expat community here is big and well, it was like a reunion.  The town is still busy with people and trucks and cars up and down the streets.  Things are still stinky and dirty and you have to be really careful as the 18 wheelers are only inches from you as you walk the street.

Life in the marina is much slower and definitely cleaner.  Luvi, the owner of our marina was and his wife Amy were making coconut milk for soup.  No can opening here, this is the real thing.  Very interesting.  After shredding the coconut meat from the shell, they place it in a blender and add a little water ....then coconut milk.

Time to Sail Away Again

2/5/19
Cat Spring, Texas

Yes, it is time to head south.  This season will be shorter due to a lot of things, but we are getting ready for our 7th sailing season.  It is hard to believe we have been doing this for 6 years so far.  On Feb. 12 we will fly to San Pedro Sula, Honduras where our favorite driver, Geovanni, will pick us up and drive us 3 1/2 hrs. back to Rio Dulce, Guatemala, where s/v Island Sol, our floating home will be waiting for us.

Charlie is toying with the idea of building a rigid fiberglass dingy to export to the US to sell.   Since we had our Colibri (our fiberglass dingy) shipped back to the states for US Coast Guard inspection we need to have another one built before we take off to Roatan, Honduras.  So we will be hanging around the "Rio" for a few weeks.

So stay tuned and I will promise to blog this trip and hope to encounter more fun on the "high seas" and also under the sea as well.